This is one of a series of videos made in the 1970s and 80s called Protect and Survive, to tell people how to cope with a nuclear attack on Britain and its aftermath.

While the films –- and accompanying radio broadcasts and pamphlets -– were only meant to be shown in times of emergency, the public interest was such they were put out on general release for anyone who wanted them. Click here to see one of the pamphlets.

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Because of the period of relative calm we have lived under since then, it is almost unbelievable to even see the need for something like this. That makes the matter of fact approach to the horrors they describe all the more chilling.

Oh, and while I'm not an expert on nuclear blasts and their devastatingly destructive effects, I'd imagine lying down in the open and covering your head and hands with your clothes – unless you're wearing a leadlined thermo-suit – is not going to do too much.